House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 50% of the vote.
Ethics December 13th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I can understand why the members across the way keep making these personal attacks. It is because the real record of our Minister of Finance is extremely positive: 441,000 new jobs created in the past 12 months, breaking an 18-year record.
We are creating the strongest economic growth in the G7. We are helping Canadian families succeed after 10 years of a Conservative government that did not give families the help they need.
Taxation December 13th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, on January 1, small businesses will be paying lower taxes, because we are dropping the small business tax rate. For those Canadian-controlled private corporations that do use income sprinkling, they will have the entirety of 2018 to determine how to give out dividends, and then they will have a few more months after that to prepare their taxes. We are giving plenty of time to businesses to ensure that they are able to continue to do things that matter to their businesses.
Taxation December 13th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, on January 1, we are lowering small business taxes for 100% of small businesses across the country. Three per cent of small businesses of Canada-controlled private corporations use income sprinkling. Of that 3%, many will be able to continue under recently-clarified rules that apply.
Those who are trying to use income sprinkling as a way of avoiding paying their fair share of taxes no longer will be able to. That is what Canadians expect of this government when we make the tax system fairer, and that is what we are delivering on.
Federal-Provincial Relations December 13th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, cities and towns across the country are among our most important partners in our effort to legalize and strictly regulate access to cannabis. That is why we are providing the provinces and territories 75% of collected excise tax from cannabis, so municipalities can get the resources they need to keep cannabis away from kids and profits out of the hands of criminals.
This agreement will be reviewed within six months of legalization to confirm that communities, cities, and towns are well supported by the provinces.
Ethics December 13th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I think the question is whether parliamentarians and Canadians expect officers of Parliament to fulfill their duties with integrity, with responsibility, and based on the facts. That is exactly what the commissioner testified to yesterday. That is what we all expect from agents of Parliament, to do their job responsibly, above the petty partisanship that so often animates the House.
Ethics December 13th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, Canadians and especially parliamentarians expect officers of Parliament to perform their duties with integrity and to make decisions based on facts. That is exactly what the commissioner said he would do. He said he would not cater to partisan interests or needs and that the facts and intellectual rigour would dictate how he carries out his responsibilities. That is what we expect, whereas opponents seem to expect nothing but partisanship.
Taxation December 13th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, once again, the first thing we did was lower taxes for the middle class and raise them on the wealthiest 1%. This summer, when we said we were going to be lowering taxes for small businesses and making sure that wealthy Canadians would no longer be encouraged to use Canadian-controlled private corporations to pay lower tax rates than middle-class Canadians, those Conservatives went on the warpath, scared everyone across the country, and are now sheepish that we are lowering taxes on small businesses as of January 1. They can do nothing but give personal attacks.
Taxation December 13th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, one cannot help but feel bad for the Conservatives. They are resorting to flailing around with personal attacks because we have created over 441,000 new jobs over these past 12 months. That is an 18-year record for the Canadian government. We are delivering the fastest growth rate in the G7. We are delivering on low unemployment and benefits to Canadians, which are making a real and tangible difference in their lives. All they have left is groundless personal attacks.
Taxation December 13th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, once again, in their pursuit of endless partisanship, the Conservatives follow think tanks that do not include the whole picture. The stats they are quoting now do not actually include the Canada child benefit. I can understand why. They campaigned against our Canada child benefit, which gave more money to nine out of 10 Canadian families and lifted hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty. They wanted to continue with their benefits that sent child benefit cheques to millionaire families. I do not think that is fair. Canadians did not think that was fair. That is why we are delivering on what we committed to Canadians to do.
Taxation December 13th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, we lowered taxes on the middle class and raised them on the wealthiest 1%, and the Conservatives tried to stop us. We brought in a Canada child benefit that would give more money to nine out of 10 Canadian families and lifts hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty, and they tried to stop us. We moved forward in increasing the guaranteed income supplement for our most vulnerable elderly seniors, and they tried to stop us. We moved forward on strengthening the CPP for future generations, and they tried to stop us.